Northumberland County Council

Last updated

Northumberland County Council
Arms of Northumberland County Council.svg
Northumberland County Council.svg
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1889 [lower-alpha 1]
Leadership
Barry Flux,
Conservative
since 23 September 2020
Glen Sanderson,
Conservative
since 23 September 2020 [1]
Helen Paterson
since February 2023 [2]
Structure
Seats67 councillors
Political groups
Administration (33)
  Conservative (33)
Other parties (34)
  Labour (19)
  Independent (9)
  Liberal Democrats (4)
  Green (2)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
6 May 2021
Next election
1 May 2025
Meeting place
County Hall, Morpeth (geograph 4464710).jpg
County Hall, Morpeth, NE61 2EF
Website
www.northumberland.gov.uk

Northumberland County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Northumberland in North East England. Since 2009 it has been a unitary authority, having also taken over district-level functions when the county's districts were abolished.

Contents

The council has been under no overall control since 2021, being led by a Conservative minority administration.

History

Elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over administrative functions previously carried out by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. The city of Newcastle upon Tyne had been a county corporate since 1400 with its own quarter sessions, and Newcastle's independence from the county was maintained by making it a county borough. The county council was elected by and provided services to the remainder of the county, which area was termed the administrative county. Berwick-upon-Tweed was also a county corporate, but was not considered large enough to provide its own county-level services. It was therefore included in the administrative county of Northumberland. [3] Tynemouth subsequently also became a county borough in 1904, removing it from the administrative county. [4]

Moot Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne: Council's meeting place 1889-1981 Moot Hall, Castle Garth, Newcastle - geograph.org.uk - 4591164.jpg
Moot Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne: Council's meeting place 1889–1981

The first elections were held in January 1889. The council formally came into being on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first official meeting at the Moot Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne, the courthouse (built 1811) which had served as the meeting place of the quarter sessions which preceded the county council. [5] The first chairman of the council was Matthew White Ridley, who was also the Conservative MP for Blackpool (in Lancashire). [6]

The county was reformed in 1974, becoming a non-metropolitan county and ceding further territory around the Newcastle conurbation to the new metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. Until 1974 the lower tier of local government comprised numerous boroughs, urban districts and rural districts. In 1974 the lower tier was reorganised and Northumberland was left with six districts: Alnwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Blyth Valley, Castle Morpeth, Tynedale and Wansbeck. [7]

Until 1981 the county council had its meeting place at the Moot Hall, which formed an exclave of the administrative county in central Newcastle. [8] The main administrative offices were at the adjoining County Hall. The exclave became part of the city in 1974 and therefore outside the county council's territory. [9] The council moved to Morpeth in 1981.

As part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, Northumberland's six districts were abolished and their functions were taken over by the county council. [10] [11] As part of the 2009 changes the council was given the option of changing its name to "Northumberland Council". [12] After consultation with the public the council decided to keep the name "Northumberland County Council". [13]

The area administered by the council: the non-metropolitan county of Northumberland Northumberland UK location map.svg
The area administered by the council: the non-metropolitan county of Northumberland

Governance

Since 2009, Northumberland County Council has provided both county-level and district-level services. The whole county is also covered by civil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government. [14] Since 2018 the council has been a member of the North of Tyne Combined Authority, which is due to be replaced by the larger North East Mayoral Combined Authority in May 2024. [15]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2021, being led by a minority Conservative administration. Following the 2021 election the Conservatives won a majority of the seats, but lost their majority later that year following a Liberal Democrat gain in a December 2021 by-election. [16] [17]

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: [18] [19] [20]

Two-tier non-metropolitan county

Party in controlYears
No overall control 1974–1981
Labour 1981–1985
No overall control 1985–1989
Labour 1989–2008
No overall control 2008–2009

Unitary authority

Party in controlYears
No overall control 2009–2021
Conservative 2021–2021
No overall control 2021–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1998 have been: [21]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Michael Davey [22] [23] Labour 1998May 2005
Bill Brooks [24] [25] Labour May 20052007
Peter Hillman Labour 20072008
Jeff Reid [26] [27] Liberal Democrats 21 May 200822 May 2013
Grant Davey [28] [29] Labour 22 May 201324 May 2017
Peter Jackson Conservative 24 May 20172 Sep 2020
Glen Sanderson Conservative 23 Sep 2020

Composition

Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to March 2024, the composition of the council was:

PartyCouncillors
Conservative 33
Labour 19
Independent 9
Liberal Democrats 4
Green 2
Total:67

Eight of the independent councillors sit together as a group. The other is not aligned to any group. [30] The next election is due in 2025.

Elections

Since the last full review of boundaries in 2013 the council has comprised 67 councillors representing 66 electoral divisions, each of which elects one councillor except Alnwick which elects two. Elections are held every four years. [31] New division boundaries have been drawn up to come into effect for the 2025 elections, increasing the number of councillors to 69. [32]

Premises

The council is based at County Hall on the southern outskirts of Morpeth, which was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1981. [33] Proposals to move the council's headquarters to Ashington were considered between 2014 and 2017, with building work starting on the new site in Ashington. In 2017 work on the new site was aborted after the proposed sale of the Morpeth site fell through. The council subsequently decided to stay in Morpeth and renovate County Hall instead. [34]

County Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne: Council's main offices 1910-1981 Vermont Hotel, Castle Garth - geograph.org.uk - 1652889.jpg
County Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne: Council's main offices 1910–1981

Prior to 1981 the council was based in Newcastle. Meetings were held at the Moot Hall. A large office building called County Hall was built opposite the Moot Hall in 1910 to serve as the council's main offices. [35]

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References

  1. Became unitary authority 1 April 2009.
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  7. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
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55°09′13″N1°41′03″W / 55.15361°N 1.68417°W / 55.15361; -1.68417